Big Book of Windows Hacks Review

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(More customer reviews)§
Despite Microsoft's claims that their vaunted "focus groups" and client experience consultants have allowed them to offer us painless computing, you and the rest of the world know it isn't true. Waiting for Windows XP or Vista to boot up and shut down certainly are irritations in themselves worth a hack or two.
As you can imagine, this is a large book. That is not just the number of pages (650) but also the format -- of the fold-flat variety. This big book of hacks is easy to work with physically.
The editorial review on this page describes the contents well except that I would alter "contains more than 100 hacks" to "contains almost 200 hacks." Quite a difference.
The writing is clear and informed. I'm sure you have read many of Gralla's magazine contributions over the years. Be sure that the book is not all text. There are plenty of illustrations and even photos (for the hardware hacks) to guide you. The hacks themselves are directed at all versions of Windows, with the focus on XP and Vista.
Consider this book a compendium of all those tips you always rip out of your computer magazine subscriptions to save -- then lose track of. Here they are, all in one place, not easily lost given the size of this book!
§

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Linksys® Networks: The Official Guide, 3rd Ed. (One-Off) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is very much a how-to book. There is little on network principles. The other side of that is it misses little in how to install, bring to life, and manage a home network. If you have Linksys hardware, you'll find the content directly addresses your needs; yet, despite its name, the book is not that Linksys specific.
Glenn covers four topics especially well: network security, resource sharing, tips and troubleshooting, and advanced network tools. The latter, in an appendix, presents Windows graphical and command-line network tools. It makes Windows XP network diagnostic tools available to just about anyone, even those with no technical exposure to networking.
If you just want the practical details on how to set up a wired or wireless network, you would probably give Linksys Networks five stars. I wanted more on principles.


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Linksys WRT54G Ultimate Hacking Review

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(More customer reviews)"For those who want to make the most out of their WRT54G you can learn how to port code and develop your own software for the OpenWRT operating system."
"Full coverage on embedded device development using the WRT54G and OpenWRT"
Unfortunately due to publication deadlines, much of the technical content of the book was dropped; it nolonger contains the chapters referenced in the above Amazon description, instead it focuses on giving brief reviews of the various firmwares available, along with hardware and software hacks. While it offers a good overview, the book falls short in technical depth and accuracy.
There are several places in the book where the information is either outdated or innacurate. Some examples -
OpenWrt should not be upgraded through the use of the "ipkg upgrade"; OpenWrt uses a filesystem overlay where the filesystem (squashfs) is readonly but appears writable by redirecting write access to another filesystem (jffs2). Attempting to upgrade will result in filesystem duplication; there are several warnings on the OpenWrt site regarding this.
The failsafe feaure is not new to OpenWrt's RC5 release; there has always been a failsafe proceeedure, but the instructions prior to the RC5 release were slightly different; failsafe was redesigned in RC5 to make it easier to access.
The example of blackholing advertisers through the use of dns using dnsmasq suggests rewriting the dnsmasq.conf; while the example does work, it creates a mess out of the configuration and involves many unnecessary steps. The same task could be acomplished much more easily by simply adding the hostnames to the /etc/hosts file.
The nvram-clean script does not actually reset the nvram configuration to defaults as described. The nvram-clean script only has a handful of known superfluous variables to remove; these are variables created by other firmwares that are nolonger required. It will not set any variables to their defaults; the defaults are device specific and setting them incorrectly would result in an unbootable device.

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This book will teach the reader how to make the most of their WRT54G series hardware. These handy little inexpensive devices can be configured for a near endless amount of networking tasks.The reader will learn about the WRT54G's hardware components, the different third-party firmware available and the differences between them, choosing the firmware that is right for you, and how to install different third-party firmware distributions.Never before has this hardware been documented in this amount of detail, which includes a wide-array of photographs and complete listing of all WRT54G models currently available, including the WRTSL54GS.Once this foundation is laid, the reader will learn how to implement functionality on the WRT54G for fun projects, penetration testing, various network tasks, wireless spectrum analysis, and more!This title features never before seen hacks using the WRT54G.For those who want to make the most out of their WRT54G you can learn how to port code and develop your own software for the OpenWRT operating system.*Never before seen and documented hacks, including wireless spectrum analysis*Most comprehensive source for documentation on how to take advantage of advanced features on the inexpensive wrt54g platform*Full coverage on embedded device development using the WRT54G and OpenWRT

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Network Your Computers & Devices Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)) Review

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(More customer reviews)(Full disclosure: This book was provided for review at no cost to me)
Note: This book is geared towards a reader who is familiar with software installation and configuration. It also assumes you have a network card installed. This is mentioned in the introduction along with other requirements.
Expecting the book would be too basic for a SysAdmin, I still learned some new things. It was surprising that a book with five authors stayed both cohesive and focused.
Good Points:
* Instructions are detailed and accompanied by screen shots. Some steps are duplicated, but this helps each section stand on its own and references to relevant chapters are given.
* Both routers covered (in detail) are realistic choices based on popularity/price.
* WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is discouraged and readers are encouraged to use WPA2-PSK to secure their wireless network.
* The authors went beyond just networking your systems and also covered built-in security tools such as Microsoft Update, Windows Defender and Windows Firewall.
* Operating systems other than the book's focus (Windows 7) are covered including Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS X 10.6, and even Ubuntu GNU/Linux 10.10.
One thing I might change would be the 35 pages spent in chapter 9 prepping Windows Media Player 12 for content streaming. However, it could be argued that this was necessary in order to give a more realistic starting point.
All in all, I would recommend this book to those looking to incorporate Windows 7 into their home network.

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Teach yourself how to use the networking features in Windows 7 to connect your home computers, even if they use different operating systems. With Step by Step, you set the pace -- building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them!

Network your Windows 7-based PCs and set up security
Add a Mac or Linux-based computer
Share printers, devices, and files with everyone in your home
Stream media over your network or to a remote PC
Tweak your network and sharing settings
Troubleshoot problems and perform easy maintenance

Your Step by Step digital content includes:

Fully searchable online edition of this book -- with unlimited access on the Web

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AirPort and Mac Wireless Networks For Dummies Review

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(More customer reviews)Even though the Apple Airport choice is not the cheapest choice, it is the easiest to set up ... but like most people, you are worried about leaving any holes for your neighbors or the guy in a car on the street to ride your bandwidth or worse.
"AirPort and Mac Wireless Networks For Dummies" covers nearly ever setup choice in not only helping you get set up but also what each of the security choices (yes, no, WEP, Multicast, etc, etc ..) means and why or why not to choose that choice.
It's written (as all the Dummies books) by a "normal" person for "normal" people. The Apple Mac setup wizard (unlike Pc ones) included with your purchase of the Airport is actually useful but there are some extra choices in the menus that are explained in greater detail and much clearer here.
There are also simple instructions for those who want to add a router and share a USB printer.
And how to extend the distance of your Airport with additional airports ... and several great chapters explaining the difference between the regular Airport, the Airport Express and how to set it up to stream music or when you go out on the road.
This book explains exactly what it promises and sets out step by step so everything is crystal clear.
It's detailed without giving you too much info and never with jargon that's confusing.
After you get your Airport, buy this book. Your setup will take 15 minutes but you will sleep soundly knowing all your bases are covered.

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Share printers, play games online, and see how to find a strong signalHere's an AirPort that won't make you wait! This cool technology makes wireless networking a snap, and with this book, even an adult can do it. You'll see how to set up your network with Mac OS(r) X, add home entertainment toys, take it on the road, and even (sorry!) keep in touch with the office from almost anywhere.Discover how to:* Add AirPort to any OS X Mac* Connect your network to the Internet* Extend your AirPort network's range* Show movies and post photos over your network* Protect your AirPort network from intruders

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Wi-Fi Hotspots: Setting Up Public Wireless Internet Access Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is perfectly focused on the intention of setting Public Wi-Fi Hotspots. By this I mean that the book doesn't load you down with all the technical details of how wireless networks work, but instead dives right into the business/organizational benefits of running such a network as a hotspot. There is a very brief chapter at the end that gives an overview of RF or wireless signals (literally 14 pages) and this is perfect. Great job staying on focus.
The book presents the implementation of Wi-Fi Hotspots from start-to-finish covering these topics:
-Why Implement a Hotspot
-Simple Quick-Install Hotspots
-Adcvanced Hotspot technologies
-Marketing your hotspot
-Avoiding freeloaders who consume your bandwidth
-Common problems and resolutions
-Hotspot safety and security
...among others. If you are considering implementing a hotspot for pay or for marketing purposes, this book is a great place to start. -Tom Carpenter, Author: Wireless# Certification Official Study Guide, CWNA Certification Official Study Guide 4th Edition, CWSP Certification Official Study Guide 2nd Edition

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